The fight over how to handle DACA largely pits Miller, who vociferously opposes the program, against most other White House advisers, who, to varying degrees, take a less dogmatic approach. Some administration officials have privately griped that they wish Miller could be forbidden from briefing the president on the issue.

Trump is torn over how to address the status of the younger immigrants who were brought to the country illegally by their parents, colloquially known as “Dreamers,” who were protected by President Barack Obama’s administration. Debate about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy aimed at this group has been among the most robust – and inconclusive – in Trump’s White House.

By contrast, Trump is far more certain about the wall. The structure could change in design or function – he vowed to build a much longer and higher wall during the campaign – but his security argument for it has remained constant.


Meanwhile, Obama’s DACA policy, which has granted work permits to more than 750,000 Dreamers, offers its own emotional narrative and has led to one of the most fraught debates in the White House. The program is extremely popular among Latino and Asian groups, and ending it would produce fierce blowback.

Fixated on the wall

Trump in many respects faces the same challenge his predecessors did: How to balance security with pragmatism. It’s impossible, experts said, to deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants as Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign. His administration this week also nodded to the reality of employment trends when it authorized an additional 15,000 temporary work visas for lower-skilled immigrants over the next few months. Trump has employed such immigrants at his golf courses and other properties, drawing criticism.

And that is why some White House aides said the border wall is so important – it could be the symbolic victory that allows him more flexibility to forge a compromise on Dreamers and other immigration issues.

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